Spanos Lab

COBRE Project Leader
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Primary Research Focus

The Spanos Lab focuses on understanding mechanisms of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) development and progression with an emphasis on translating mechanistic knowledge into improved patient care and treatment outcomes.

The Spanos Lab has developed immune competent models of human papillomavirus positive (HPV+), human papillomavirus negative (HPV-), and recurrent/metastatic HNSCC’s in mice. Data generated utilizing these models has demonstrated that the immune system is critical to the clearance of HPV(+) cancers. This work launched the following active areas of research interest/investigation:

  • Exploring novel treatment options to cure viral mediated cancers by utilizing immune responses. This project aims to improve our understanding of immunologic tumor clearance so that novel therapies which increase survival and decrease treatment-related morbidity can be developed.
  • Furthering our understanding of viral oncogenes (such as HPV E5) and the mechanisms by which they contribute to disease progression. This project will identify new targetable molecules and molecular pathways for treatment intervention.
  • Viral mechanisms of immune evasion. In collaboration with Dohun Pyeon PhD (Michigan State University), we have uncovered a novel mechanism by which the homeostatic cytokine CXCL14, which is silenced by HPV oncogenes, leads to antigen specific T-cell mediated tumor clearance. This project seeks to identify unique mechanisms by which the human papilloma virus or HPV+ cancers suppress host immunity to evade immune recognition and clearance.

The lab utilizes preclinical data to generate novel clinical trial designs and subsequently analyzes patient samples to generate a new experimental hypothesis. All projects in the laboratory have a high degree of translational potential through implementation into clinical trials.

Primary Research Group

Cancer Biology and Immunotherapies

Secondary Research Groups

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About the Spanos Lab

About Chad Spanos, Assistant Scientist

W. Chad Spanos earned his BS degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside and holds an MD from the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

Before joining Sanford Research, Dr. Spanos completed his residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and research fellowship at the University of Iowa. He also completed a fellowship in reconstructive surgery at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida.

Academic Affiliations and Training

Academic Affiliations

  • Head and Neck Surgeon, Sanford Health, Sioux Falls, SD
  • Associate Professor, University of South Dakota, Department of Surgery, Sioux Falls, SD

Professional Affiliations

  • Member, American Association for Cancer Research
  • Diplomate, American Board of Otolaryngology
  • Fellow, American Head and Neck Society
  • Fellow, American College of Surgeons
  • President, South Dakota Chapter American College of Surgeons

Highlighted Publications

Impact of PET/CT on Staging and Treatment of Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Jorgensen JB, Smith RB, Coughlin A, Spanos WC, Lohr MM, Sperry SM, Militsakh O, Zitsch RP 3rd, Yueh B, Dooley LM, Panwar A, Galloway TLI, Pagedar NA. Otolaryngology - head and neck surgery: official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. 2019; 160(2):261-266. PubMed [journal] PMID: 30126337

Cancer exosomes induce tumor innervation. Madeo M, Colbert PL, Vermeer DW, Lucido CT, Cain JT, Vichaya EG, Grossberg AJ, Muirhead D, Rickel AP, Hong Z, Zhao J, Weimer JM, Spanos WC, Lee JH, Dantzer R, Vermeer PD. Nature communications. 2018; 9(1):4284 PubMed [journal] PMID: 30327461 PMCID: PMC6191452

Read All Publications

Lab Projects and News

Cisplatin Mediated Immune Modulation of HPV Positive Head and Neck Cancer

Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) represents 5% of all cancers in the United States and the incidence of a subset of HNSCC caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) is increasing at epidemic levels. Squamous cell cancer in the head and neck provides a fascinating dichotomy because approximately one-third of the tumors are caused by HPV and about two-thirds are a result of random mutations. Even though HPV(+) HNSCC presents at a more advanced stage than HPV(-) tumors, the survival is markedly better (30% to 40% at five years) in patients with HPV(+) HNSCC. Conventional treatment of these cancers requires chemotherapy (usually cisplatin) and radiation. Although HPV+ HNSCC patients have an improved response to treatment, the overall five-year survival for HNSCC is only 50% and the short and long-term side effects from treatment are significant. Modulation of current effective treatments and new, less toxic treatments are needed to improve the long-term cures as well as limit the side effects in a progressively younger cancer population that may live with these side effects for 30 to 40 years post-treatment.

Meet the Spanos Lab

Craig Welbon, BS

Supervisor, Research

Craig Welbon joined the Spanos Lab in 2021. As a lab supervisor, he oversees the day-to-day management and operations of the laboratory, including coordinating personnel, managing budgets and maintaining laboratory compliance. He also designs and conducts in vitro and in vivo experiments exploring cytokine and chemokine immune dysregulation in HPV+ head and neck cancers.

Craig has diverse experience in immunology research, starting at the NIH’s Laboratory of Immunoregulation (LIR) in Bethesda, Maryland, and continuing at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) in Lausanne, Switzerland. He later worked in the product development section of the American Red Cross Holland Laboratory studying human dendritic cells. He next went to work at South Dakota State University in the Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (ADRDL).

Craig has been involved in research and diagnostics for nearly 30 years.

Payal Ghosh, MS

Research Specialist

Payal Ghosh is a research specialist in the Spanos Lab and works on HPV+ head and neck squamous cell cancer research. She is investigating cytokine-mediated immune responses to cancer using HPV+ murine tumor models in both in vitro and in vivo systems. Currently, Payal is using CSF2 CRISPR knockout tumors in mice undergoing cisplatin and radiation therapy to determine the synergistic effects that tumor suppression of CSF2 and standard care treatment has on eliminating and blocking the reoccurrence of HPV+ head and neck cancer. Her work will help to understand the role played by these cytokines in the context of chemo and radiation therapies currently used for head and neck cancers.

Payal obtained her Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science from India and her Master of Science in pharmaceutical nanotechnology from the University of South Florida.